Georgia Baseball: SEC coaches release preseason predictions
The preseason predictions from SEC Baseball coaches are out, and Georgia is expected to come in fourth place for the Eastern Division. Defending SEC champion Tennessee was picked in first-place with 12 first place votes followed by Florida who received two. Vanderbilt and South Carolina are in third and fourth respectively with Kentucky and Missouri the two teams predicted to finish below the Bulldogs in the East.
Meanwhile, in the Western Division, preseason No. 1 LSU is picked to win. Like Tennessee, the Tigers received 12 first-place votes for the West. Second-place Texas A&M and fourth-place defending National Champion Ole Miss also received one. Arkansas was picked in third with Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State rounding out the West in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
As for overall winners of the league, LSU also takes the cake there receiving 11 of 14. Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M each received one. The SEC has at least eight teams ranked in the preseason top 25 for both Baseball America and D1Baseball.com including the top three in the Baseball America rankings and seven of the top 10 according to D1Baseball. In total, 10 different teams are represented across the two ranking services. Georgia is not one of them but ranks No. 39 in a top-50 poll put out by Collegiate Baseball.
Georgia did land one player on the All-SEC teams as voted on by the coaches as well. Outfielder Connor Tate who returns for his COVID super-senior sixth-year at UGA was named to the second-team. Tate, a graduate-student from Oconee County High School (Bishop, Ga.) was the only Georgia player to start all 59 games last season as he led the Bulldogs with 77 hits, 19 doubles and 58 RBI. Tate tied for the team-high in home runs with 13 while batting .345 overall and .372 in SEC play.
Georgia gets the season underway next Friday, February 17th, at Foley Field against Jacksonville State. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
2023 SEC Baseball Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team
First Team
C: BT Riopelle, Florida
1B: Jack Moss, Texas A&M
2B: Peyton Stovall, Arkansas
3B: Luke Mann, Missouri
SS: Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss
OF (3): Dylan Crews, LSU; Enrique Bradfield Jr., Vanderbilt; Wyatt Langford, Florida
DH/UTL: Tommy White, LSU
SP (2): Chase Dollander, Tennessee; Chase Burns, Tennessee
RP: Brady Tygart, Arkansas
Second Team
C: Luke Hancock, Mississippi State
1B: Tre’ Morgan, LSU
2B: Ryan Targac, Texas A&M
3B: Trevor Werner, Texas A&M
SS: Maui Ahuna, Tennessee
OF (3):Â Connor Tate, Georgia;Â Brett Minnich, Texas A&M; Colton Ledbetter, Mississippi State
DH/UTL: Austin Bost, Texas A&M
SP (*3): Carter Holton, Vanderbilt*; Hurston Waldrep, Florida*; Paul Skenes, LSU*
RP: Camden Sewell, Tennessee
*Ties
